The Nikon F and the Nikon
Photomic FTN
are provided with the Type A screen as standard equipment. It is a matte/Fresnel
screen with a split-image rangefinder spot in a central 12mmdiameter reference circle.

Originally, there are 14 types of screens designed for the Nikon F (Type A, B, C,
D, E, J, G and type H, where Type G and Type H has 4 models each). In the sales manual
published around 1972, Nikon claimed the Nikon F camera accepts 18 interchangeable
focusing screens, classified from Type A to Type P (with variations of the G and
H types - kind of confusing due to the mixed with screens designed for the F2 and
interchangeable with both models. Model L (45 degree split, 12mm circle indicate
exposure mesurement when work with Photomic or FTN finder & M was for high magnification
finder that was launched with the F2, both came in later stage. Any of these screens
may be used in combination with the five interchangeable viewfinders. But since the
screens for F and F2 are compatible and thus, other focusing screens designed for
the F2 is usable in the Nikon F. You may also download a PDF file (224k) for focusing screen selector chart
for recommended and adaptable screen with older Nikkor lenses.

No single screen can be expected to provide optimum viewing conditions for all the
Nikkor lenses in all photographic situations. A selective use of the wide range of
these interchangeable screens ensures flexibility and easy and accurate viewing,
with each offering a definite advantage in specific applications.

Type
A

Nikon description: Matte/Fresnel
field with 12mm center reference circle and (horizontal) split-image rangefinder.
Personally, although I've used this screen for better than three years, I prefer
the type E screen -- uncluttered, and the darned rangefinder always seems to black
out when I'm working with macro lenses.

Type B

Nikon description: Matte/Fresnel
field with 5mm and 12mm diameter concentric reference circles. The reference circles
are there, presumably, to denote where the centerweighted metering's emphasis is.
Incidentally, the Photomic Tn finder was the one that established Nikon's now-traditional
60/40 split (which varies up to 80/20 on the F3).

Type C

Nikon description: Fine-ground
matte field with 5mm center clear spot and cross-hair reticle. For photomicrography,
astrophotography, and other high magnification applications using parallax focussing
on aerial images. Note that without the 6x finder, you really shouldn't even consider
this screen.

Type
D

Nikon description: Fine-ground
matte field. It darkens in the corners! Put one in, feel the power of 1950's era
SLRs (or if you want to be really masochistic, start eschewing automatic-diaphragm
lenses; better yet, get a camera with a spinning shutter dial) ... and then get the
E screen.

Type
E

Nikon description: Matte/Fresnel
field with 5mm and 12mm diameter concentric reference circles, and (3) etched horizontal
and (5) vertical lines. Ideal for architectural photography. Everyone seems to love
this screen, and I am no exception.

It does take about a roll or
two to get used to not having any focussing aids, but having an uncluttered, undistracting
field improved my composition skills by leaps and bounds -- I was no longer tempted
to focus on the center of the screen and then forget to recompose.

Type
F

Nikon description:
Matte/Fresnel field with 12mm diameter microprism focussing spot. Briteview. Suitable
for general photography.Similar to Type K; the choice boils down to whether you're
used to the split-image or microprism focussing. Neither is really more precise than
the other.

Note that since the field is clear, not
matte, everything outside the microprism spot will be in focus. It may or may not
be disconcertening to you, but it certainly does mean that your DOF preview will
not help you at all.

Type
H (H1, H2, H3, H4)

Nikon description:
Clear Fresnel focussing screen with microprisms over the entire field. Recommended
for photography in poor lighting conditions. Four models correspond to lenses with
different maximum apertures:

H1 for most f/2.8 lenses
<=200mm

H2 for most f/5.6 or faster
lenses <=200mm

H3 for most f/4 or faster
lenses >200mm

H4 for most f/5.6 or faster
lenses >200mm

A word on microprisms and
split-image rangefinders: these work by preferentially refracting light based on
its angle relative to the screen. Both are essentially glass wedges; the steeper
the angle, the greater the effect (and therefore, the accuracy of focussing). However,
as the angle steepens, they become less responsive to off-axis light, and thus, with
slow lenses, they will tend to black out. Therefore, the tradeoff is between focussing
accuracy and light-gathering ability, which is why Nikon offers four (each) type
G and H screens: they vary only in the wedge angle of the microprisms.

For general photography.This
is the standard screen that came with the F2. I find it much more useful than the
A, although they are generally similar, except for the microprism donut. This donut
is genuinely useful, and the split-image gives great results when used with unforgivingly
shallow-DOF lenses, such as the 85f/1.8 wide-open.

Nikon description: Matte/Fresnel field with 12mm center reference
circle and 45 degree (diagonal) split-image rangefinder. Similar to Type A.Because
the world is not solely made out of vertical lines, this screen is more useful than
A. Because composition dictates that subjects should not always be in the middle
of the frame, this screen is probably less useful than you think.

Type
M

Nikon description: Fine ground Fresnel field with 5mm diameter clear
spot and cross-hair for use in parallax focussing on aerial images, plus millimeter
scales for calculation of individual magnification of objects or for measuring objects.
Brilliant image in dim light. Suitable for close-ups, photomicrography, and other
high-magnification applications. Again, get the 6x finder before considering this
one.

Type P

Nikon description:
Matte/Fresnel field with 3mm diameter BriteView (diagonal) split-image rangefinder
spot surrounded by 1mm wide microprism donut. One etched horizontal and one etched
vertical line divides field into four quadrants. Rapid, accurate focussing for subjects
with both straight and ill-defined contours. For general photography. Similar to
Type K. In other words, Type P is to Type K as L is to A.

If I didn't know that my
eye would be irresistibly drawn to the center of the screen because of the RF, I
might have considered this one instead of the Type E. When Nikon claims that the
RF doesn't black out with slow lenses, they mean that the RF accuracy is decreased
even more by having a shallower angle to the splitting prisms -- so that it might
transmit more light to an off-axis eye.

Type
S

Nikon description:
Matte/Fresnel field with 3mm diameter BriteView (horizontal) split-image rangefinder
spot surrounded by 1mm wide microprism donut. Rapid, accurate focussing for subjects
with both straight and ill-defined contours. Shows area masked on left side of screen
by hand-written data plates. Designated for MF-10 and MF-11 only. Similar to Type
K.

This is the appropriate
screen for collectors of F2 Data's.

Type
T (TV)

Nikon description:
Matte/Fresnel field with TV screen frame lines.This screen is designated for still-photo
preparation for television use.

Note: Type U with
5mm and 12mm diameter circle came with AF brackets, best for telephoto longer than
200mm.

Site
rearranged by: leofoo®.Credit: HiuraShinsaku®fromNikomat Club of Japan for feeding some useful inputs on the introductory page.
The great 3D logo by Kiasu; TedWengelaar®,Hollandfor his continuous flow of input of early Nikon bodies.StephenGandy's Cameraquest; Marc Vorgers from Hollandfor
his additinal images on Nikon F Apollo; Hayao Tanabe
corrected my Red Dot and Early F assertions. Gray Levett, Grays of Westminster
publishes an excellent monthly historical look at Nikon products, from where I learned
about the high-speed F's. Made
with aPowerMac,broadcast with
a Redhat Linux
powered server.